The J Traintag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-2243832009-03-02T14:40:17-05:00When The J Train pulls up to the station, everybody gets off!TypePadSuspendedtag:typepad.com,2003:post-635466892009-03-02T14:40:17-05:002009-03-02T14:40:17-05:00I'm not sure if anyone is still reading this space, but as of today I am suspending operations on this blog. The simple reason is that I don't feel like I'm going anywhere with it at the moment. A multi-issue...The J Train

I'm not sure if anyone is still reading this space, but as of today I am suspending operations on this blog.

The simple reason is that I don't feel like I'm going anywhere with it at the moment. A multi-issue personal blog such as this one is unlikely to appeal to anyone who doesn't know me personally, which defeats the point of having a public web presence. I just feel like The J Train has run its course, and probably did so a while back.

Sometime very soon I will be launching a blog devoted to the radio show. I also hope to find an outlet for writing about food and cooking. I don't feel like I have much to say about politics these days, at least nothing that isn't said much better by the time I get the words together in my head. And I'll still offer up personal musings on Livejournal and Facebook (just e-mail me for more info).

The blog will stay up for the time being, as is, so no worries about links and such.

Thanks for reading, and don't be strangers.

Selling out the candy factorytag:typepad.com,2003:post-633618472009-02-26T00:14:43-05:002009-02-26T00:14:43-05:00Michael Jackson Auction - Catalog List - 2009 This has been a huge source of amusement this week. In particular, check out the "Amusements, Arcade Games, and Disneyana" collection. I'm tempted by several of the arcade games, if it wouldn't...The J Train

Michael Jackson Auction - Catalog List - 2009
This has been a huge source of amusement this week. In particular, check out the "Amusements, Arcade Games, and Disneyana" collection. I'm tempted by several of the arcade games, if it wouldn't be so damn expensive to get one out here.

The more I read through that section, the more I thought--if I were a Hollywood set designer, and if the set I had to build were the home that a fabulously wealthy pedophile used to lure in children, this is exactly the collection of stuff I would want to have.

I can't wait for the "Memorabilia From the Life and Career of Michael Jackson" catalog comes online.

Oscars!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-631511772009-02-21T12:35:28-05:002009-02-21T12:35:28-05:00I've seen almost all of the major Oscar contenders except for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, so I guess I should offer up my predictions. I don't know how insightful they are, though; this year it seems like there...The J Train

I've seen almost all of the major Oscar contenders except for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, so I guess I should offer up my predictions. I don't know how insightful they are, though; this year it seems like there isn't much drama. I'd be surprised if there were any big, surprising upsets.

Best Picture and Best Director: Slumdog Millionaire
This is a two-horse race between Slumdog and Milk, but while Milk is a damn good biopic, in the end it's another biopic. Slumdog felt fresh and new, at least to those of us who don't really do Bollywood. Frost/Nixon and The Reader are both great movies and might be contenders in weaker years, but they don't have a shot here. I don't think the two-horse race is close enough for them to split BP and BD this year.

Best Actor: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
This is the toughest two-horse race to call. Sean Penn was fantastic, doubly so for disappearing into the role of Harvey Milk and never once making us think of Spicoli. But Rourke's Randy
"The Ram" Robinson was such a huge surprise that I think the voters going back and forth between them will ultimately settle on him. The only question is whether they'll want to reward Milk somehow, since it won't get Best Picture. I really loved Richard Jenkins (aka the elder Nate Fischer) in The Visitor, but a lot of voters probably didn't see it, and it really isn't in the same class anyway. His nomination was his win.

Best Actress: Kate Winslet, The Reader
Winslet is past due, and she was just as good in Revolutionary Road (though it wasn't as good a movie). She also got to wear "old" makeup, which voters love. And she was mostly naked for the first quarter of the movie, which didn't hurt. Meryl Streep is the only other contender, but Doubt ended on such a clunky note that I think it will hurt her. (It wasn't her fault, but it was her line.) Anne Hathaway showed surprising depth and range in Rachel Getting Married, but she was the most annoying thing about an otherwise wonderful movie.

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
I'm pretty sure they carved his name on the statuette six months ago. I was happy to see Lexington's own Michael Shannon get a nomination for his scene-stealing performance in Revolutionary Road; he was also really good in a movie called Shotgun Stories.

Best Supporting Actress: Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
I know I haven't seen it, but I'm going out on a limb here. Viola Davis was only in Doubt for about five minutes--they were a great five minutes, probably the best of the movie, but I don't know how much impact it had. Neither Amy Adams nor Penelope Cruz bowled me over in their roles (though I'm growing to love Adams in anything). Marisa Tomei was good (and, it must be said, hot) but she probably already has one Oscar more than she should. So by process of elimination, I'm going with Henson.

A few more:
Original Screenplay: Wall-E. I think voters will give it anything they can, since they can't vote for it for Best Picture. (It totally deserved a nomination, and would have made it a tough call for me.)
Adapted Screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire
Original Song: "Down to Earth" from Wall-E. See above, plus the Slumdog songs will split the vote. (I'd love to see M.I.A. win an Oscar, though.)
Documentary: Man on Wire. Along with Wall-E and Slumdog, one of my three favorite movies of the year.

Food Network abomination Sandra Lee (Semi-Halfassed Cooking) has a new eponymous magazine. Apparently the name-brand whoring makes it hard to tell the ads from the content.

Tangerine salt! I made some of this tonight, and it was just as easy as it sounds. It smells wonderful. Don't know exactly what I'm going to do with it, but I'll figure something out.

Her Morning Elegancetag:typepad.com,2003:post-622211522009-02-01T09:47:51-05:002009-02-01T09:47:51-05:00Really awesome video. The song is by a guy named Oren Lavie.The J Train

Really awesome video. The song is by a guy named Oren Lavie.

Duck Prosciutto, Part 1tag:typepad.com,2003:post-622017142009-01-31T16:08:17-05:002009-01-31T16:10:30-05:00I have procured a copy of Charcuterie, by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn, and this year I intend to dig deep into the fine art of cured meats. But my journey starts far from the traditional pork, with something a...The J Train

I have procured a copy of Charcuterie, by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn, and this year I intend to dig deep into the fine art of cured meats. But my journey starts far from the traditional pork, with something a bit more unusual...
The subject: one magret duck breast. Procured at The Fresh Market in Lexington, rinsed and dried.
Pre-cured weight=381 grams.
A layer of kosher salt is added to a small pan, and the duck breast is added and buried.
He'll stay in the fridge like that for at least 24 hours, probably longer since that's a particularly large duck breast. Then it gets wrapped in cheesecloth and hung up to dry for a week or so. Then we slice it up and cross our fingers.

To be continued...

Link dumptag:typepad.com,2003:post-620590842009-01-28T17:02:59-05:002009-01-28T17:02:59-05:00Best cake ever. This doctor is my new hero. An excellent complaint letter written to Richard Branson after a particularly horrible flight on Virgin Airways: So lets peel back the tin-foil on the main dish and see what’s on offer....The J Train
<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2009/01/27/zombie-hello-kitty-c.html">Best cake ever.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28893909/">This doctor is my new hero.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/4344890/Virgin-the-worlds-best-passenger-complaint-letter.html">An excellent complaint letter</a> written to Richard Branson after a particularly horrible flight on Virgin Airways:<br />
<blockquote>So lets peel back the tin-foil on the main dish and see what’s on offer.</p>
<p>I’ll try and explain how this felt. Imagine being a twelve year old boy Richard. Now imagine it’s Christmas morning and you’re sat their with your final present to open. It’s a big one, and you know what it is. It’s that Goodmans stereo you picked out the catalogue and wrote to Santa about.</p>
<p>Only you open the present and it’s not in there. It’s your hamster Richard. It’s your hamster in the box and it’s not breathing. That’s how I felt when I peeled back the foil and saw this...</blockquote></p></div>